Bitter Christmas ★★★★

Released: 28 August 2026

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Starring: Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón , Victoria Luengo, Patrick Criado

Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most recognisable voices in contemporary European cinema having beguiled audiences with his sense of style and at times, risqué approaches to subjects since the 1980’s. After a shift to English filmmaking with The Room Next Door, he returns to the Spanish melodramas he has made his own with the meta tragi-comedy Bitter Christmas. It is a dual narrative that focuses on aging celebrated director Raúl (Leonardo Sbaraglia) who is searching for a comeback vessel, the second part being the story within a story of Bitter Christmas, the film he is working on.

The parts featuring Raúl will draw comparisons to Almodóvar’s own work and career, even if he has never been one to shy away from feature filmmaking. In some ways these sections can feel like a companion text to his acclaimed work Pain & Glory. The Bitter Christmas sections set in 2004, take up much of the first two-thirds of the film as we follow Elsa (Bárbara Lennie) a cult filmmaker who now works in advertising. She is prone to occasional severe headaches which we eventually learn are the result of a panic attack and issues in dealing with the loss of her mother a year prior.

It is a reflection on the links between personal and public lives and what artists choose to pull from their private lives into their works. Bitter Christmas is clearly a labour of love drawn from Raúl’s experiences causing him to butt heads with long term assistant and confidant Mónica. This fallout serves more as the denouement to the film.

For the most part Almodóvar keeps the two stories separate, giving each room to breathe and develop at its own pace. Bárbara Lennie is a marvel as Elsa, a complicated figure using her work to escape her demons, running from reality. Raúl’s sections are more meditative, allowing a contrast between the two disparate stories. There is never a point where the film doesn’t feel cohesive, a clever, meta reflection on the storytelling process and commentary on the career of Spain’s premier filmmaker. Even as he heads towards 80, Almodóvar continues to be a major draw, capable of wide range and having lost none of his visual or narrative style. Bitter Christmas is full of his trademark reds, sequences in Lanzarote are particularly gorgeous. Pau Esteve Birba’s cinematography is constantly eye-catching, from Elsa’s knits to the beach; rarely is a frame less than impressive.

The latest in a late career run from Pedro Almodóvar, Bitter Christmas finds the sweet spot between commentary on the fickleness of the filmmaking industry and the balance between the artist and their personal lives. It features the trademark melodrama he has become known for with Bárbara Lennie joining the legion of great female leads in his films and Leonardo Sbaraglia also delivering a reserved but highly impressive performance.